PROVIDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY Special Collections Department Nicholson MSS Nicholson Whaling Manuscript Collection OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Number: Nicholson MSS Title: Nicholson Whaling Manuscript Collection Creator: C. Paul Nicholson Dates: 19th-20th centuries Media: Papers Quantity: 63 boxes and assorted volumes ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLECTION The collection is organized in subgroups by ship and topic. The subgroups are as follows: Subgroup 1: Ship's Papers Brig Eunice H. Adams of Edgartown Subgroup 2: Ship's Papers Whaling Bark Minnesota of Edgartown Subgroup 3: Ship's Papers Whaling Schooner E. H. Hatfield of Edgartown Subgroup 4: Ship's Papers Whaling Schooner Hattie E. Smith Subgroup 5: Ship's Papers, Whaling Schooner Emma Jane of Edgartown under the management of Samuel Osborn, Jr. of Edgartown, Massachusetts Subgroup 6: Whaling Schooner Aurora of Edgartown under the management of Subgroup 7: Ship's Papers, Whaling bark Clarice of Edgartown Subgroup 8: Whaling Brig/Bark Mattapoisett Subgroup 9: Whaling Ship Charles Phelps/Progress of Stonington Subgroup 10: Whaling Ship Betsey Williams Subgroup 11: Bark Perry of Edgartown Subgroup 12: Bark Courser of New Bedford Subgroup 13: Miscellaneous whaling and sealing ships Subgroup 14: Ship America of Stonington Subgroup 15: Schooner Thomas Hunt of Stonington Subgroup 16: Charles Henry Wilbur Collection Subgroup 17: Ship Lion of Providence Subgroup 18: Bark Robert Morrison Subgroup 19: Beetle Papers Subgroup 20: Mowry Collection of whaling correspondence Subgroup 21: Dering Whaling Correspondence Subgroup 22: Personal Papers of Individuals Subgroup 23: Bark President of New Bedford Subgroup 24: Bark Mary Frazier Subgroup 25: Scrapbooks Subgroup 26: Rodman-Fisher Correspondence, 1799-1829 Subgroup 27: Turner papers Subgroup 28: Miscellaneous whaling manuscripts, no voyage identified Nicholson Whaling Manuscripts 2 Subgroup 29: Distributed papers, International Whaling Conference on Historical Whaling Records, Kendall Museum, Sharon, MA September12-16, 1977 Subgroup 30: Shipping Papers, Whaling and Sealing Voyages Subgroup 31: Sea Letters, PPL, Grey box Subgroup 32: Miscellaneous Volumes Subgroup 33: Maritime non-whaling manuscripts, Rhode Island related (See also the Library’s Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection) Subgroup 34: Maritime non-whaling, No connection to Rhode Island (See also the Library’s Miscellaneous Manuscripts collection) Subgroup 35: Miscellaneous items removed from logbooks, journals, account books, manuscript collections. SEE ALSO In addition to the manuscript items described here, the Nicholson Whaling Collection includes over 750 manuscript logbooks, a collection of published works related to whaling and dozens of pieces of scrimshaw, as well as assorted ephemera and photographs. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Providence Public Library Special Collections department. Preferred Citation: Researchers are requested to cite Nicholson Whaling MSS and Providence Public Library Special Collections in all footnote and bibliographic references Processed By: The collection was processed in 2008 by Judith Lund with additions made to the finding aid by Janaya Kizzie in 2014. Property Rights: The Providence Public Library owns the property rights to this collection. Copyrights: Consideration of the copyrights is the responsibility of the author and publisher. COLLECTION INVENTORY Subgroup 1 Ship's Papers Brig Eunice H. Adams of Edgartown Contents of whaling box E1138 SCOPE AND CONTENT 2 Nicholson Whaling Manuscripts – Subgroup 1 – 3 The records in this collection represent the first four voyages of the brig Eunice H. Adams under the management of Samuel Osborn, Jr. of Edgartown, Massachusetts: The first two voyages, 1884-1884 and 1884-1885 are treated as one, because the brig returned to port prematurely due to severe leaks. After repairs, the voyage continued. The collection includes frequent correspondence to Osborn from the Master, Cornelius Marchant, and after Marchant's death, from his replacement, J. W. Pardee, crew accounts and individual signed agreements, as well as the signed Articles of Agreement for the voyage. Also included are bills and receipts for outfitting the vessel, and those incurred during the voyage, including those for medical treatment of the ailing Captain Marchant and bills for his funeral. There is a diagram of cask stowage on board ship. For the second voyage, there are frequent correspondence to Osborn from the Master, Manuel E. Costa, crew accounts and signed Articles of Agreement for the voyage, bills and receipts incurred prior to sailing and during the voyage. The collection from the third voyage includes frequent correspondence to Osborn from the Master, William A. Martin, his last letter dated January 1890, complaining about conditions onboard. Included also are a crew list, crew accounts, and the agreement with the captain, as well as bills and receipts for outfitting and those incurred during the voyage. The logbook indicates Martin was replaced in late January by Fordham, who brought the vessel back to New Bedford. The document collection does not reflect this change. Martin is still signing bills for the voyage after the date the logbook indicates he has been replaced. The Providence Public Library owns logbooks or journals for the voyages of 1869-1870, 1874-1876, 1884-1885, 1885-1887, 1887-90, 1893-94 and account books for the voyages of 1874-1876, 1884-1885, 1885-1887, 1887-1890, and 1893- 1894, filed elsewhere. The Kendall Whaling Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum also have logbooks for the voyage of 1869-70. BOX 1 Series A Voyage of June 4, 1884 - June 24, 1884, Master C [ornelius] Marchant returned leaking. Voyage of July 17, 1884 - April 1, 1885, Master C[ornelius] Marchant who died on the voyage, Replacement Master J. W. Pardee Subseries 1 Correspondence, 1883-1885 Folder 1 Misc. Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. Agent December 1883-Mar 1885 Folder 2 Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. from Marchant and Pardee October 1884-Mar 1885 Folder 3 Correspondence to Captain Marchant from Samuel Osborn, Jr., March 1885 Subseries 2 Agents/Owners Accounts, 1884 Folder 1 Inventory for Eunice H. Adams 1884 Subseries 3 Crew Papers and Accounts, 1883-1885 3 Nicholson Whaling Manuscripts – Subgroup 1 – 4 Folder 1 Shipping Paper or Articles of Agreement June 1884 Folder 2 Shipping Paper or Articles of Agreement, July 1884 Folder 3 Individual Agreements, 1883-1884 Folder 4 Crew Accounts, 1884 Folder 5 Payments to master's wife, 1884-1885 Folder 6 Crew Settlements (2), 1885 Subseries 4 Government Documents U. S. and Foreign, 1883-1885 Folder 1 United States Customs Receipts, 1883-1885 Folder 2 United States Consular Documents, 1884 Folder 3 Portuguese Govt., Azores Customs Document, 1884 Subseries 5 Bills and Receipts, 1883-1885 Folder 1 November-December, 1883 Folder 2 January-March, 1884 Folder 3 April 1884 Folder 4 May 1884 Folder 5 June1884 Folder 6 July-August 1884 Folder 7 September-December 1884 Folder 8 January-February 1885 Folder 10 Bank Drafts, 1884-1885 Subseries 6 Miscellaneous Papers, 1884 Folder 1 Sketch of cask stowage, 1884 BOX 2 Series B Voyage of July 11, 1885-September 1, 1887 Captain Manuel E. Costa Subseries 1 Correspondence, 1885-1887 Folder 1 Misc Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. Agent June 1886-October 1887 Folder 2 Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. from Captain M. E. Costa September 1885-June, 1887 Subseries 2 Crew Papers and Accounts, 1885 Folder 1 Shipping Paper or Articles of Agreement, 1885 Folder 2 Captain M. E. Costa Agreement and Plan of Cruise, 1885 Folder 3 Crew Advances and expenses, 1885 Folder 4 Crew Permissions, 1885 Subseries 3 Government Documents U. S., 1885-1887 Folder 1 United States Customs Receipts, 1885, 1887 4 Nicholson Whaling Manuscripts – Subgroup 1 – 5 Subseries 4 Bills and Receipts, 1885-1887 Folder 1 January-May 1885 Folder 2 June 1885 Folder 3 July 1885 Folder 4 August-December 1885 Folder 5 January-December 1886 Folder 6 January-November 1887 Folder 7 Bills and receipts re shipping oil, 1885-1887 Folder 8 Bank drafts, 1885-1887 Subseries 5 Miscellaneous Papers, 1885-1886 Folder 1 Summary of sperm whales sighted, 1885-1886 Folder 2 Trade Card from Barbados, bears calculations, n.d. BOX 3 Series C Voyage of October 16, 1887-March 18, 1890, Captain William A. Martin Subseries 1 Correspondence, 1887-1890 Folder 1 Misc. Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. and James Gillingham February 1887-January 1889, January, 1890 Folder 2 Correspondence to Samuel Osborn, Jr. from Captain William A. Martin December 12, 1887-January 2, 1890 Folder 3 Correspondence to William A. Martin from Osborn June 25, 1888 Folder 4 Correspondence and documents re collision Gillingham to Brown, 1889 Subseries 2 Owners/Agents Accounts Folder 1 List of casks, 1887 Subseries 3 Crew Papers and Accounts, 1887-1889 Folder 1 Shipping Paper or Articles of Agreement, 1887 Folder 2 Crew List, 1887 Folder 3 Crew outfitting sheets, 1887 Folder 4 Crew Accounts and Agreements, 1887-1889 Folder 5 Captain's Agreement, 1887 Folder 6 Account of expenses and profits (purchased August, 2015) Subseries 4 Government Documents U. S. and Foreign, 1887-1891 Folder 1 United States Customs Receipts, 1887-1891 Folder 2 Consular Certificate, Ponta Delgada, 1888 Subseries 5 Bills and Receipts, 1887-1891 5 Nicholson Whaling Manuscripts – Subgroup 1 – 6 Folder 1 July-December, 1887 Folder 2 January-December, 1888 Folder 3 March-August, 1889 Folder 4 September-October,